The Australian government is seeking AUD 120m ($92m) from a Chinese shipowner after one of its bulkers ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.

Government barristers laid out those damages in opening remarks before a federal court as part of their case against Shenzhen Energy Transport.

The company’s 70,000-dwt Shen Neng 1 (built 1993), since renamed Jia Yong, hit the Douglas Shoal in April 2010, severely damaging or destroying an area covering 115,000 square meters and leaving toxic anti-fouling paint on the reef.

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